Dalkey Archive Press founder John O'Brien passes at age 75; catalog to merge with Deep Vellum

John O’Brien, founder of the Review of Contemporary Fiction and Dalkey Archive Press, passed away on November 21st at the age of 75. A bold, visionary publisher, O’Brien was dedicated to producing, promoting, and keeping in print, experimental works of international literature. 

Dalkey Archive Press—named after the novel by Flann O’Brien—was founded with the mission of recovering works that had fallen out of print due to market forces and making them available forever. With a strong connection to academia and educating future generations of readers, the press also published the Review of Contemporary Fiction to provide scholarship on underrepresented authors, along with CONTEXT magazine, a free tabloid distributed through independent bookstores and a network of academic advisors. As Dalkey grew over the years, the focus of the press expanded into one of the country’s largest publishers of international literature.

O’Brien’s editorial taste was unmatched, and some of the press’s key authors include Gilbert Sorrentino, Flann O’Brien, Svetlana Alexievich, Arno Schmidt, Ishmael Reed, David Markson, Anne Carson, Nicholas Mosley, Stanley Elkin, Carlos Fuentes, Danilo Kiš, Carole Maso, Gerald Murnane, Jon Fosse, Gertude Stein, Édouard Levé, Marguerite Young, Louis-Ferdinand Céline, and many more. Over its history, the press published 1,000 works of fiction, poetry, literary nonfiction, and scholarly works, including several Nobel Prize, National Book Award, and National Book Critics’ Circle Award winners, as well as the Best European Fiction anthology series. 

O’Brien himself was awarded the Sandrof lifetime achievement award from the National Book Critics’ Circle in 2011, and in 2015 was appointed Chevalier in the Ordre des Arts & des Lettres in recognition of his significant contribution to French arts and literature by the Minister of Culture and Communication of France.

After founding the press while teaching at Illinois Benedictine College, O’Brien moved the press to Illinois State University, before moving to University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana, and then University of Houston-Victoria. The current offices are in McLean, IL; Dublin, Ireland; and London, UK.

Before his passing, the Dalkey Archive’s board of directors approved an agreement to merge with Deep Vellum Publishing, a nonprofit publishing house and literary arts center based in Dallas, TX. Deep Vellum and its publisher Will Evans plan to honor John O’Brien’s legacy by keeping Dalkey Archive’s backlist in print and by signing future titles, together with the assistance of editorial consultant, Chad W. Post, of Open Letter Books at the University of Rochester. 

As an editorial imprint of Deep Vellum, Dalkey Archive will remain true to O’Brien’s vision of keeping its legendary backlist in stock, continuing to publish leading literature from around the world, and working closely with readers, students, editors, writers, and translators to foster an international community for literature. Will O’Brien, John’s son and current president of Dalkey Archive’s board of directors, will join Deep Vellum’s board of directors as part of the merger.

An online memorial service to honor John O’Brien’s life and work will be held on December 9th. Details to follow. 

John has now joined his father, family, and dear friends. As his longtime friend and Dalkey Archive author, Gilbert Sorrentino wrote, quoting Henry Vaughan: “They are all gone into the world of light.”

Will Evans | Publisher & Executive Director | will [at] deepvellum [dot] org

Chad Post | Editorial Consultant | chad [at] deepvellum [dot] org

Marketing & Publicity Contact: Sara Balabanlilar | Marketing & Sales Director | Deep Vellum Publishing | sara [at] deepvellum [dot] org